Chefchaouen: The Blue Pearl of Morocco
Nestled into the rugged Rif Mountains of Morocco is the brightly painted blue city of Chefchaouen. The city’s stunning mountain surroundings, brightly-painted blue streets and alleys, and the exotic culture and shopping make Chefchaouen a must-see location for the travel photographer and casual tourist alike.
Chefchaouen is most famous for being the blue city. That’s what most people call it – “The Blue City” or “The Blue City of Morocco” since most tourists cannot spell or pronounce Chefchaouen. The city was founded in 1471 but didn’t receive its famous indigo hue until around 1492, when a large influx of Jewish refugees arrived, escaping the Spanish inquisition. The color, many say, was chosen since it’s the spiritual color for the Jewish people (also used on Israel’s flag), while some historians believe the color was a tribute to a nearby mountain spring that made this settlement possible in this arid land. Locals today will claim that the blue color keeps the mosquitoes away.
Chefchaouen is a 125-mile (200 km) drive from Fez and a 210-mile (340 km) drive from Casablanca. There are also daily flights to and from Casablanca to Chefchaouen on Royal Air Maroc and bus services as well. Once you’ve arrived, you’ll have dozens of hotels to choose from but try to stay in the medina if possible. For more information on visiting Chefchaouen, you can check out the website of Morocco Tourism on Chefchaouen.
So beautiful! And.. to be surrounded by all of that BLUE!!! I could get lost! 😉 Thank you for sharing this…Hoping you’ll open this as a workshop locale again one day! Culturally it sounds captivating and I like that you’ve mentioned the convenience to Casablanca…so entices me further! I’ve placed that location on my personal list of places I’d like to visit one day! Thank you again for sharing your travels with us Richard.. No matter where you are.. we can be present in the moment of scene with you …God has given us such beauty in this world to enjoy!
Never heard of this city, so glad I found this post, loved looking at this 🙂
Gorgeous! I love these images. They are haunting and beautiful and a little wistful. It makes me want to see this magic in person. Thank you for sharing them.
Richard, I always look forward to your posts. You have a unique perspective for every image you take. God has blessed you with a most wonderful talent; to see the beauty and the ability to capture it and best of all to share it with others.
I hope to meet you some day, hopefully at a workshop or seminar. People often use the most expensive and latest camera equipment and come up with beautiful but ordinary images. I believe you can capture the soul of every subject, even with a toy camera. All the best,
Beautiful images…I was in Marrakech for a week and wanted to visit this amazing place, however, the journey to the Blue City was too far unfortunately…
Marrakech was just as amazing…maybe next time
Such beautiful images…Chefchaouen is indeed difficult to pronounce. I would prefer calling it Blue City.
So beautiful photography! Really inspiring, I am thinking now about travelling to Morocco Ñ=
Wow, I’ve been to Morocco several times and not been to the Blue City. It looks like an awesome place for headshots and portraits.
Thanks for the heads up. Nick